The voice I’m talking about here is your inner voice – no, not the one you hear giving you all the negative self talk. You know that one: “I’m not good enough”, “who do you think you are” – those are thoughts which are social conditioning. I’m talking about your INTUITION! Intuition is a feeling you have, a gut instinct you can’t explain. Sometimes we lose sight of it for a while because it’s the quieter one or because we want to please others. Negative self talk can be so loud it overshadows our intuition leading us to feel self doubt, lack of confidence, confused, frustrated or even insecure. I remember a specific situation several years ago when I both second-guessed and lost sight of my own intuition. A business opportunity was presented to my husband and me. We got caught up in the excitement of the opportunity though my initial gut reaction was suspicion. I felt very uncomfortable and alone with this gut sensation. I was still in a place of wanting to please others at the expense of my growing awareness. However, because of my desire to trust others, I compromised my own intuition. I made the choice to ignore this intuition, this gut sensation, and talked myself into something that was going against my best judgement and what my body was clearly telling me. I’ll be the first to admit I can talk myself in or out of anything – I rally my team: “Me, Myself and I.” As a result, it came back to bite me. In other words, I should have listened to my own intuition. I see so clearly NOW that my wanting to trust and please others, at the expense of my own intuition had for years left me consistently feeling insecure, confused and filled with self-doubt – not a pretty picture. Here are some ways that help me find my bearings and trust my intuition: When I have a choice to make, I hold each option in my attention and FEEL its effects on my body and emotions. When something is wrong for me, I feel constricted and a tightness across my body. On the other hand, the wise choice feels liberating or even exhilarating. I am so much more aware of the power behind this and follow my instincts on what feels right to do. Sometimes the choice is NOT immediately clear and there’s a feeling of confusion -- something just doesn’t feel right and you can’t put your finger on it. Confusion can be a kind of signal – it’s your body’s way of saying “don’t do anything right now”. Just go with the flow and the answer will come, you just need to wait for clarity. If you find yourself over analyzing or over thinking a situation (which is something I tend to do) use the distraction method. Distraction can help you make a better choice. It’s not ‘avoiding’ but ‘tabling’ it for a bit. For example, one very effective distraction for me is cleaning, deep cleaning! It allows me to get out of my head and let my intuition do its work. Essentially you’re pressing PAUSE on your analysis. The next time you’re faced with a big problem, decision or choice – mull it over, stop and concentrate on other things – then go with the first solution that comes to you. This gives your unconscious mind space to filter through and come up with the right answer for YOU. When you have the courage to trust and TAKE ACTION on your intuition -- despite going against the majority -- you will learn to create and stand on your own truthful ground. No more living a lie. The bottom line is trust your gut! Trust the first feeling you have about something. You have to be true to yourself and do what’s right for YOU